Cigarettes voted the worst smell

In the research published today, 26 per cent of those polled said smoke was the stink most likely to get up their noses.

It came just above the whiff of unclean pets - with 21 per cent of the vote - in the Top of the Pongs poll conducted by Space Air Solutions, a company that makes air purifiers. Third place went to leftover cooking smells at 17 per cent.

Human body odour only managed 10th place, with only one per cent of the vote, in the survey of 2,000 people - even though it topped the same poll last year.